Most European Stocks Fall as German Exports Slide

German exports declined more than economists forecast in November as the sovereign debt crisis weighed on euro-area demand. Photographer: Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg

Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Most European stocks fell after
German exports dropped and investors speculated recent gains
have overshot the outlook for company profits as Alcoa Inc.
prepared to kick off the U.S. earnings season.

Debenhams Plc slid the most in more than three years after
the retailer cut its profit-margin forecast. Vodafone Group Plc
added 1.7 percent as the Wall Street Journal reported that
Verizon Communications Inc. said it’s feasible it will buy the
U.K. company’s stake in their Verizon Wireless joint venture.
TGS Nopec Geophysical ASA rallied 7 percent as the Norwegian
offshore surveyor forecast revenue that exceeded estimates.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1 percent to 286.25 at
the close of trading, as three shares fell for every two that
gained. The volume of trading was 46 percent greater than the
30-day average, Bloomberg data show. The measure climbed to the
highest level since February 2011 last week after U.S. lawmakers
agreed on a compromise budget.

“We have to realize that economic data coming out of the
euro zone is going to be very poor,” Bob Parker, senior adviser
at Credit Suisse Asset Management in London, said on Bloomberg
Television. “I would want to diversify in equities across the
euro zone. Markets are going to be frustrating. We are going to
see a lot of day-to-day volatility.”

The Stoxx 600 has increased 2.4 percent in 2013, pushing
its valuation to 19 times reported earnings, near the highest
level since March 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Economic Reports

German exports declined more than forecast in November.
Exports adjusted for working days and seasonal changes fell 3.4
percent from October, the steepest drop in more than a year, the
Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. Economists
had forecast a 0.5 percent decrease, according to the median of
nine estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

Still, economic confidence in the euro area increased more
than economists expected in December even as the 17-nation
currency bloc remained mired in its second recession in four
years. An index of executive and consumer sentiment rose to 87
from 85.7 in November, the European Commission said. Economists
had forecast a reading of 86.3, according to a Bloomberg survey.

Earnings Season

Alcoa, the largest American aluminum producer, will
unofficially start the U.S. earnings-reporting season after New
York trading closes today. Profits at S&P 500 companies grew an
average 2.9 percent in the fourth-quarter, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. Excluding financial companies, income
rose 0.5 percent.

“Expectations going in the fourth-quarter reporting season
are weak, with many analysts scaling back their estimates in
September,” Ishaq Siddiqi, a market strategist at ETX Capital
in London, wrote in e-mailed comments. “Outlook statements will
be the key, setting the tone for the rest of the year.”

Debenhams sank 7.7 percent to 108.1 pence, the biggest
decline since March 2009. The U.K.’s second-largest department-store chain cut its forecast for full-year margin growth as it
stepped up promotions to gain shoppers.

A gauge of automobile companies was the worst performer
among 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600. Car sales in western
Europe slid 16 percent in December, LMC Automotive said in a
report yesterday.

Recruiters Retreat

Michael Page International Plc and Hays Plc slid 3.8
percent to 398.8 pence and 1.5 percent to 84.55 pence,
respectively. The U.K. recruitment companies retreated as
smaller rival Robert Walters Plc said the market is still
challenging and there’s yet to be any indication the situation
will improve this year. Robert Walters closed unchanged at 203
pence, erasing an earlier loss of as much as 5.9 percent.

Vodafone advanced 1.7 percent to 162.4 pence, the highest
since Dec. 13. Verizon Communications Chief Executive Officer
Lowell McAdam said his company has the strength to buy
Vodafone’s 45 percent stake in the U.S.’s largest wireless
carrier, the Journal reported late yesterday.

TGS Nopec

TGS Nopec soared 7 percent to 193 kroner in Oslo, the
biggest gain since October 2011. The offshore surveyor forecast
2012 revenue of $931 million and sales this year of $970 million
to $1.05 billion.

Actelion Ltd. climbed 3.4 percent to 46.26 Swiss francs
after the drugmaker reiterated its 2013 guidance of matching
last year’s figures and forecast a “double-digit percentage
growth” in 2015.

Anglo American Plc advanced 1.4 percent to 2,028 pence as
the mining company appointed Mark Cutifani as chief executive
officer after losing $14 billion of its market value under
predecessor Cynthia Carroll.